Charging speed is arguably more important than range. Because if you can refill your battery in five minutes, who really cares if it has 250 miles or 400? With the BYD Atto 8 SUV that debuted at the 2026 Paris Motor Show on Monday, the Chinese automaker is betting that it can win over European customers with blazing-fast fill-ups.
The Atto 8 packs the automaker's 115 kWh second-generation Blade battery. With it, it'll get around 405 miles of WLTP-rated range (the U.S. EPA is far stricter, so it'd be rated lower here), an impressive figure for a seven-seat SUV. However, that number is less important than how fast the Atto 8 can reach it on a fast charger. In reasonable ambient temps, the Atto 8 can charge from 10-70% state-of-charge (SoC) in just five minutes, BYD says. Add four more minutes and it'll reach 97% SoC. In super cold temperatures, as low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit, it'll take 12 minutes.
